Wednesday: A Bad Day To Be
by Smack Dab
Summary: Stewart Malcolm is your average 12 year old boy in the 7th grade. Calm, friendly, and generally carefree, he never means anyone harm, but when he gets paired up to tell scary stories to the creepiest kid in school named Wednesday Addams, his simple little world takes a turn for the worst. Can young Stewart find a way out of this predicament, or will Wednesday become his doom?
1. Enter Stewart Malcolm

**Author's Note****: I must confess something my dear readers. I've never watched the 90s Addams Family movies until only just recently, but I can gladly say I throughly loved both of them. Everything from the writing quality, set designs, and absolutely picture perfect cast made both quite a treat to watch for the month of October.**

**Having stated all this, it is most imperative I make clear a few vital points before we begin this story...**

**1\. This story will feature my own personally made up OC as the main character. Please note that while I have nothing against the pairing of Joel and Wednesday, the former shall NOT be playing a part in this story.**

**2\. This story's time-frame takes place in 2001, as opposed to the early 90s like the movies themselves did.**

**3\. The family themselves will not be portrayed as evil or supernatural like in the films, but rather eccentric, out-going, and extremely passionate about their favorite month of the year. With the exception of a taste for gothic culture and macabre interests, they are otherwise harmless, normal humans like you and I.**

**I sincerely apologize if these changes are not to your liking, ****but I do hope in any event you may find it in your heart to give it a chance if nothing else. Thank you for reading, and I do hope you enjoy my little tale!**

**Content Warning: The following story is rated T for adult language. Due to these elements, mild viewer discretion is advised.**

**Disclaimer:** **I own absolutely nothing pertaining to the Addams Family, beyond this personalized work of fiction. Thank you. :)**

Alright so, my name's Stewart Malcolm. I'm a 12 year old kid in the 7th grade, who considers himself a fairly out-going, friendly person. I've got my own little group of friends I like to hang with like most kids my age, but otherwise I generally keep to myself and do my own thing. I do make it a point to be friendly with most I meet though, if only because I'm not interested in making enemies with anyone...sorry, not the thing for me.

The kids in my school are pretty bland tbh, but at least none of them have given me any grief, which I wholeheartedly can appreciate. Having said that...there is ONE girl that does sorta stick out, although for better or worse is anyone's guess really.

Her name is..."uniquely" enough, Wednesday, and she can be best described as one of the "quiet" ones. Her expression generally always remains the same. An intense glare, and rather gloomy frown permeates her face, and she generally doesn't talk to anyone else from what I can tell. Like me, she keeps to herself and only speaks when the teacher calls for her. I have tried to wave at her out of politeness, but all she's done since I've known her is stare for a few seconds, and then look at something else. I tried not to give her too much thought. She's just another kid like all the rest of us here, and while we probably would never be friends or even acquaintances, so long as she didn't bother me or MY friends, I was more than happy with keeping a fair birth away from her.

However...that all changed one day in October. Our teacher suggested we pair up in twos to tell scary stories to each other in the closet. I'm sure SHE thought it was a clever take on the whole "7 minutes in heaven" game the older kids like to play, but for someone like me who was shy around girls in general, it honestly spelled trouble. For starters, I knew only ONE scary story by heart, and it was one I made up when trying to get my little bro to stop bugging me last Halloween. Secondly, Wednesday was present that day in class, and with her being so unnerving as is to be around for extended periods, imagine what getting locked in a secluded location with her would be like. The mere inkling of it terrified me more than anything I was likely to see for this year's Halloween.

Anyhow, our teacher Ms. Palmer, decided the order we would go into the closet by the tireless cliche of "spin the bottle". I groaned in annoyance as I tended to suffer the worst of luck with games like this. I somehow ALWAYS got the proverbial "shit end of the stick" when that damned bottle just so happened to land in my direction. I briefly considered asking permission to use the restroom or grab a drink of water as a way to squeeze out of participation, but our teacher had grown wise to my tactics gradually over time, effectively crossing THAT potential exit off the list.

Bearing this in mind...I had little hope but to pray that stupid bottle didn't land in my direction. Well, even IF it did, the absolute worst case scenario here would be if Wednesday also happened to have gotten picked as well, but _noooo_ one's luck could ever suck THAT much, could it?

Here lies another golden reason of why there are precious few things I DESPISE more than being proved wrong...

Anyway, Wednesday briefly stared at me as the bottle was being spinned. Her stare was the same it'd always been, emotionless and frightening. I had no idea WHY she was looking my way, but I had no reason to acknowledge her presence at all. The very LAST thing I could have afforded was myself being locked in the same room with her, but I digress. I focused on something else entirely, but all the while I could still **feel** her intense gaze on me. I felt so small beneath her view, and was honestly on the verge of jumping out of my skin, and rocketing straight through the classroom ceiling if this kept up for much longer. It was at this point I was practically begging to be picked and paired up with anyone other than her.

Finally, the bottle stopped and lo and behold, it landed right in Wednesday's direction. My hands tightened up almost immediately after I realized what had happened. I knew then and there this could either go beautifully, or I would be close to having one of the worst days I'd had in quite a while. Now literally ALL I needed to have happen was that cursed, glassed poker to land in any other direction other than my own. I put on the best bored expression I could muster as I watched the bottle begin to spin once again. If I looked disinterested, clearly no one would be able to pick up on the creeping terror that threatened to consume me...riiiiight?

As hopeless as things seemed right there, I briefly studied the time on the clock top-center of the chalk-board, 11:30 AM. Our lunch period was only half an hour away. Just then, a desperate idea spawned in my brain all in one instant. I reasoned that even if she was picked next, the shock caused by the realization might make me faint and stay out for a while, and then I could hold off on having to go inside the closet with her at least until after lunch time. If that didn't work..well, I had a bit of experience with acting. I'd have to hope the teacher would swallow the bait this time, otherwise I was shit out of options by that point. This needed to work, I HAD to make this count!

I paused as I held my breath. A part of me wanted to close my eyes entirely and pretend this whole thing was just a dream, but I knew better than to deceive myself so pitifully. I made an effort to hide my closed fists from the class circle we formed as we sat waiting for the bottle to stop spinning. My heart seemed to be in a competition with my brain to see which could out-run the other. All of my plotting and planning aside, I really did feel like I was gonna faint, and in fairness that would just work in my favor.

My nerves began to unsteel themselves as I reasoned the bottle wouldn't land on me. I'm no mathematician by any means, but I'm pretty sure the odds of the bottle landing on me next to out of 10 different kids was at least reasonably slim. Yes sir, there's absolutely no chance that the bottle could possibly land right in my direct-...

"Mr. Malcolm? You and miss Addams are the first chosen for the closet. Please make it quick so the next pair can have their turn before lunch."

..._oh no_.


	2. An Omnious Revelation

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing pertaining to the Addams Family, beyond this personalized work of fiction. Thank you. :)**

_Gone_...**done**...that was it.

I could only remember falling flat on my back from my sitting position. The world spun around me in a sickening fashion as I could hear my back crash to the ground right before blacking out. When I came to, I noticed I was flat on my back in the nurse's office, receiving a check-up from Ms. Jean as she was busy putting something away in a file cabinet. As she spun around in her chair, she noticed I had finally awoken, and wheeled herself over to my position to check up on me.

"Ahh Stewart! I'm so glad to see you're okay."

I was still rather groggy having just woken up. I briefly began to wonder just how long I was out for, when I had noticed a watch on Ms. Jean's left wrist. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it had said 11:58 AM. Based on this new knowledge, I realised I had successfully managed to avoid getting paired up with Wednesday, and just in time for lunch no less! My plan worked, but I also understood my parents were going to have to know about this little incident as well. Sure enough, Ms. Jean pulled out a small sheet of paper, and began to jot down exactly what happened today.

"I'm afraid you'll have to take this note back home with you Mr. Stewart. I don't mean to inconvenience you in anyway, but you know your parents need to hear about this. Before you head off to lunch, I must ask have you been feeling strange, or different lately?"

I managed to come up with a short, but believable excuse in my head. I couldn't just blurt out the real reason why I had fainted after all, it would ruin my victory here.

"Nah...I guess I've just been watching one too many horror flicks lately. Y'know how it is, with the month of October and all. I'm definitely feeling better now though."

Ms. Jean nodded her head in response, a kind and relieved smile began to form on her face. She then mentioned one last reminder to me of the note before sending me off to lunch.

"That'll be all for now Mr. Malcolm. Just please remember to show your parents that note when you get home later on today. If you begin to feel weak or uneasy again, don't hesitate to come see me. With that said, have a good lunch!"

I mentally fist bumped as I realized I had just dodged the mother of all bullets. YAHOOOO!!! Problem solved!! Crisis averted!!! Call it whatever the heck you wish, my life was getting alot easier with each passing second. Though it was my first official time going under like that, it was hard to argue with the results. I got out of getting stuffed in the closet with someone waaaay too close for comfort, and I wasn't going to be stared to death by Wednesday. No pun intended, but could today have gotten any sweeter?!?

Well that's what I was thinking...up until my little social group learned of the incident.

"Ohh dude, PLEASE tell me you aren't joking!!!"

"Were you knocked out at the thought of her touching you?"

"It's kinda sad, to think you were so close to spending quality time with your giiiiirlfrieeeend!!!"

I facepalmed harder than I ever had that day. Why were friends the absolute worst people to turn to when you actually NEEDED help?

To my front were my buds Jason and Tommy. We'd been friends since the 2nd grade and they always had my back. I have about a year on Jason, and Tommy's more or less the same age as me give or take a few months. Then at my sides, we've got Bobby and Marcus. I met them only a year back in the 6th grade, and despite their obnoxious teasing, we get along about the same as me and my first two buds do.

Their heckling is at least as juvenile as you've no doubt assumed. Bobby was to my left ear making kissy noises, which quite honestly made me want to harshly bounce my metal lunch tray right off his face. I repressed that urge as in doing so I'd be starting a much larger problem that I had no time for solving. I patiently sat in wait and allowed them to finish their mind numbingly stupid drivel. Once I was sure they'd gotten it out of their systems, I firmly made my reply whilst trying to hold back a sea of rage after sitting through their taunts for a good 10 minutes or so.

"Rather than just find amusement at my expense, why don't you children actually inform me of something interesting that went down today?"

The rest of our talk was filled with our typical interests and latest gossip. I tuned out the latter and tried to lose myself in the blase, sub-culture that was adolescent past-times. While I was enjoying the trivial banter and taking my mind off what went down earlier today, I couldn't help but shake the feeling I was being watched by someone. I didn't dare look around for whom it was. I was actually enjoying myself for the moment, and turning my head back to see Wednesday glaring at me would drastically kill what little bright spirits I had going for me.

After lunch was finally over, me and my mates said our goodbyes and headed back to our classes. Ms. Palmer decided to go easy on me and didn't press on the matter of me and Wednesday not going into the closet as planned. I managed to avoid contact or interaction with her throughout the day as well, but I could still feel someone looking at me while my back was turned. It was an awkward and none too pleasant feeling, but I did my best to ignore it as I was reveling in my victory of not being stuck alone with the weirdest kid in my class.

Once the final bell rang, I was on my skateboard, blasting some tunes on my CD player, and having the time of my life! It was like being given a clean bill of health from the doctor. There was literally nothing that could damper my spirits at this moment in time. I felt invincible as I rode down my neighborhood streets as the sun was going down, pulling off all my favorite tricks as I used some ramps that were left over from that year's skateboard tournament on my way home. I've been boarding since I was 8, and truth be told nothing gets my heart beating faster than riding down your favorite streets at max speed. The wind hitting your face, the sound the wheels make as they skid across the ground, and the feeling of having no cares in the world as you rocket your way toward the destination.

My board screeched to a halt as I reached my house. It was a pretty standard, 2 story building with a generic white paint job, 2 windows located at each respective room for both floors, and a small flower garden at the front of the yard. It's nothing high class or sophisticated, but it's still home, and to me that's about as comforting as it gets. I kicked my board up to my left hand and proceeded to unlock and enter the front door. I gently nodded my head to the music of my CD player as I stepped inside, greeted by the familiar scent of fresh laundry and something similar to popcorn was cooking in the background.

I called out for my folks...no response. I tried again, this time a bit louder, but to the same result. It then dawned on me they must have stepped out for a bit, so I went to put down my board and look for the sitter. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested at taking a swing at that popcorn first though. After putting my board down in a secure location, I walked into the kitchen as some slight drool trickled down my chin. As I neared the microwave, I realised it still had about 2 minutes to go. I decided to go greet my kid brother before gorging myself on one of my favorite snacks.

As I walked up the staircase which lead to my shared bedroom with my little brother named Paul, I briefly wondered how his day might have went. His own social life was about the same as my own, friendly but distant. As families tended to be, I could be pretty protective of him, even IF he at times drove me up a wall with his antics. There was only one way to find out in this scenario...

As I walked through the doorway, I noticed he wasn't anywhere to be found on the beds.That was until after I closed the door I saw him to my left, smugly grinning at me with his arms and legs crossed as he confidently leaned his back up against the wall. Paul was only 2 years younger than me, and in the 5th grade. He had fair skin like me, short, wavy brown hair, light-green eyes, and a slight overbite on his 2 front teeth. He was wearing his usual attire that he wore around the house. A plain, white, short sleeve, T-shirt, some black shorts, and plain white socks.

"Tard."

"Twerp."

Well he was in a chipper mood at least...but no doubt that smug grin of his had something far grander in mind for me.

I instantly dreaded the thought of him learning what happened in school today. It was one thing to get teased and harped on by your dumbass friends in school, but to get it in the privacy and comfort of your own home was just going a bit too far for my tastes.

"_Soooo_...word from the grape-vine tells me we have company coming over later on tonight."

I had to stop myself from ringing his neck right where he stood. Of course, "grape-vine" in bratty younger sibling tounge translated to "I raided the mail-box while you were coming home from school". The question was...why would there be another letter in the mail-box waiting at home for me? I already had the health notice from the nurse's office earlier today, what was the point of sending over a second one? Lastly...what did my "precious" little brother exactly mean by "company"?

"Now just what the hell could you ever mean by THAT, I wonder?"

I had a somewhat tired look on my face as I made it abundantly clear I wanted him to get straight to the point. If something was up and involved me in any way, I'd of liked to be amongst the first to know about it.

He calmly walks his way toward the center of our bedroom, right where I was standing.

"I'm referring to..._this_"

He then begins to dig through the right pocket of his shorts, and pulls out what looked to be a small, freshly opened envelope, which much to my horror had the address of my own school on the top-right corner of the envelope. I immediately gulped in terror as my stomach began to tense up. What could this be for? My blackout episode was one thing, but why would there be another letter waiting at home for me?

"Dear Mr. and Ms. Malcolm, we must inform you that the family of one of our students, Wednesday Addams, has requested to visit you at your home at exactly 9:30 PM tonight, sharp. We don't know the specifics of why they wish to, but we were instructed to tell you that it is of the "utmost importance". We wish you the best of luck, have a nice day. :)"

...

...

...

...-FUUUUUU!!!


	3. A Matter Of Time

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing pertaining to the Addams Family, beyond this personalized work of fiction. Thank you. :)**

"_Hellooooo_..._snap, snap. _Dumbass, are you alive in there?!?"

I could feel the paper I was holding drop from my hands as it made a slight breeze while floating. My hands twitched slightly as I stood frozen to the spot where I read the letter. My kid brother's pompous grin began to change into something more akin to a concerned look. I even felt him try to check my pulse my grabbing a hold of my right wrist. I hadn't felt that scared since earlier today, and all I knew now was ice-cold terror coarsed through my veins as my world began to turn upside down once again.

Instinctively, I managed to un-root my feet from their spot and frantically looked for our alarm clock that sat on a small desk right between both of our beds. It read 6:45 PM, a small wave of relief washed over me as I realised I still had a little over 3 hours left until they got here. That gave me some time to think about what to say, and somehow magically explain the coming ordeal to my beloved parents. I had to sit down on my bed before I completely wigged out. My folks (named Isabelle and Robert respectively) were pretty forgiving parents overall, but reports like this had a way of getting me in a whole mess of trouble. First, there was my mother who would flip at the thought of me fainting in a public setting. Then, there was my father who'd shove his fist right where the sun didn't shine if he found out I did something to upset a girl.

"What the hell am I gonna do?!?"

I asked myself out loud. My brother seemed to pick up on my desperation, and spoke up shortly after I finished speaking.

"How did all this come about anyway? What kind of shenanigans are you up to now?"

"Sigh...I haven't done anything wrong at the moment. The class was getting paired up to tell scary stories to each other in the closet. It's meant to build up hype for Halloween, but I got paired up with that Addams kid...I think you know which one I mean."

Paul scratched his chin for a second in thought, but quickly remembered whom I meant.

"Oh yeah, the quiet one."

His cocky smirk returns with a vengeance as he began to once again scratch his chin, but this time in mocking wonder.

"So let me see if I've got this right now...in just the span of a day, you've managed to get an entire family filled with people we don't know, and know absolutely nothing about, to visit us all because you fell flat on your dead ass?"

He took a couple of seconds to catch his breath, before doubling over on the floor with laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-OHH GOD!!! They're gonna MASSACRE YOU!!!"

He pointed his right index finger up at my face as he said this, earning him the bulk of my angry temperament for the moment.

Yeeeeeaaah...my brother was about to earn a spot on my permaneant shit-list. How I resisted the urge to kick him in the ribs while he was down is anyone's guess. Anyway, I then made a break for the 2nd floor restroom to freshen up a bit while I was thinking of what to say, only to find the door locked. I tried banging on it in a hurried panic, which prompted whomever was on the other side to shout "In a minute!". While it was a bit muffled due to the door being shut, I could somewhat make out a teenaged sounding voice on the other end. That settled it, my rents hired Joey again, guess there IS a silver lining to every cloud out there.

The door abruptly opened as I was lost in thought, startling me as I backed away from it before it could pound in my nose. Joey emerged from the restroom wearing nothing but a towel. Not the first thing I'd of like to have seen having someone open the door, but could have been MUCH worse by far.

"Sup Joe?"

"Sup dude?"

He extended his left hand offering me a high five, which I happily accepted. His typical friendly, cool-guy nature on full display here. Joey has been babysitting me and the troll for about 4 years now, and he's the guy who taught me how to board. He had short, light-brown hair, light green eyes, a few freckles, was fair skinned like me and my little bro, and had an average physique. He was kind of like the oldest sibling when mom and dad weren't around, and me and Paul had a great time with him for the most part.

"There's popcorn in the micro if you hadn't already noticed. Give me a few minutes to get my duds on, and I'll get a bowl ready."

"Sweet! I'll see you in the living room then."

I flashed him a slick smile as I waited for him to fully exit the restroom, before barreling on in myself. After about 20 minutes of basic primping and hygiene, I exited the restroom as quickly as I entered it and went straight for the living room, firmly plopping down dead-center on our couch. Paul no doubt wanted first crack at the popcorn before me, greedy little gremlin that he was. I needed something to calm my nerves as I began to wrack my brain on what to say to the family when they got here, as well as explain the situation to my parents that wouldn't result in me getting grounded for the rest of the year.

I couldn't quite figure out which was more important. With my parents, I was always honest about everything that'd happened in school or in general, but how was I supposed to explain a girl's family is coming over because I passed out in school? Then on the other hand, there was the family themselves that I knew absolutely nothing about. Not to sound rude, but Wednesday was already odd enough by herself, and I wasn't in any hurry to find out how strange all the rest were. The simplest fix would just be to hear what they had to say, and it was starting to look like my only option here. The truth was I could only hope and pray that whatever the reason they wanted to visit for was, it wasn't because I had pissed anyone off. I'm no choir boy by any means, but I'm not the type to go out and blindly look for trouble either.

My little bro shortly joined me to the right of the couch, bobbing up and down as he sat in place. I couldn't quite tell if he was so excited at the fact we had fresh popcorn on the way from the microwave, or if he was just looking to annoy me some more. I pushed those thoughts to the side in order to calm myself a little more. Maybe Joey would have some decent advice to share, he was 17 and pretty mature for his age. I was gonna have to break this news to mom and dad when they got home one way or another, so any help was good help as far I was concerned.

Joey finally walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of freshly made, buttered popcorn. He was now wearing a grey T-shirt, black sweatpants, and white sneakers. He gently placed said bowl in the center of our coffee table which was overlapped by our TV. As the three of us began to delve into our delicious treat, Joey flipped on a show from Cartoon Network to keep Paul from pestering me further. It took our combined efforts about 5 minutes to nearly deplete the bowl of it's contents entirely. I quietly asked Joey if I could speak to him upstairs in private, which he agreed to despite his somewhat perplexed look on his face.

I made sure to tell Paul where we'd be going so he didn't raise a panic when he realised we were gone.

"Yo Paul! I need to talk to Joey upstairs for a few minutes. Can we trust you out here, by yourself...alone?"

He was far too absorbed in his little show to even turn around and face me, but he did manage a small reply.

"Yeah yeah sure whatever...if you let me have the rest of the popcorn that is."

He waved me off as he said this as he watched his show, almost in a trance-like state. It just wouldn't be family if we didn't piss each other off huh? I had zero time to concern myself with any of my usual interests, so I ended up caving.

"Don't make a mess, and you've got a deal. Alright?"

He flashed me a thumbs up with his right hand. I couldn't afford to waste anymore time on this, so I decided to accept his answer as me and Joey headed our way back upstairs. I quickly walked ahead as I lead the way to my bedroom, with Joey following close behind. We both took a seat on the foot of my bed as I began our private conversation.

"Look Joey...I hate to bother you over something personal, but I really need some advice right-.."

"If you're talking about the thing with the letter, Paul already showed me. I didn't want to bring it up because I figured you could use a snack first. That's pretty rough little man. I'm not sure why that family wants to visit you, but it's not like you did anything wrong, right?"

I could feel my nerves begin to unwind as Joey's words did resonate. At the same time though, a small part of me began to feel some manner of guilt. While I may have fainted, I did hope for it to happen as I didn't want to be paired up with Wednesday. However, was that really the worst thing in the world? I've never been rude to her in anyway that I can remember, hell I'm never that way with anyone in general. It's not like I had anything against her personally. She just creeps me out, that's all.

I became lost in thought for a few minutes before Joey sharply called my name, abruptly snapping me out of my self-induced stupor.

"Stewart! Are you listening dude? What do you think you could have done for them to want to visit you?"

"I uhhh...kinda fainted earlier today in class. My teacher was making our class tell scary stories to each other to build some excitement for Halloween. The usual, goofy, holiday crap they all like. I got paired up with this silent girl Wednesday Addams, which suffice it to say didn't agree with me so well."

I answered truthfully. I had no reason to lie to my favorite sitter all things concerned. Joey was basically the older brother I never had, and I knew he wouldn't go around blabbing this confession to anyone.

"Ahhh I see. Say, this "Wednesday" girl...you don't have a thing for her, do you?"

He asked this with a mischeivous smirk and his right eye-brow being raised up slightly. I let out a large grumble as I had no time for these pointless accusations. Like I said, I've got nothing against the kid, but I knew essentially nothing about her, besides her name that is. I generally go out of my way to be cordial and friendly with pretty much anyone I meet, and Wednesday was no exception, but it's not like we were friends either. I can't even recall a single conversation we've shared together. Clearly, this could only mean we were fated to be!

Jeez, gimme a break...

"Joey, I'm being serious here! The kid's gonna be here with her whole family in less than 3 hours! In the mean time, I have to somehow explain to my parents that I fainted in school. You've gotta help me here dude! What should I say?"

"Alright, alright, calm down little man. I'm just pulling your chain. Look, it's not like you've done anything wrong, correct? I'm sure whatever it is they're visiting you for, it can't be because you've pissed anyone off. Maybe they just want to invite you to a party or something, Halloween is only a couple of weeks away after all. Just listen to what they have to say, show them the same courtesy you show everyone else, and I'm sure everything will go by like clock-work. You're overreacting way too much Stew, just chill!"

I took a few minutes to rationalize what Joey was saying, and it soon became clear to me that...he was right. I was getting all worked up for nothing. I knew I'd done nothing wrong, what point was there to losing my mind over something I couldn't control? While I was still nervous over having to meet her family, I began to reason that if I just acted like myself, things might actually go by smoothly. I mean after all...what was the worst that could happen?

"Thanks Joey, I think you're right. I've been deeply overanalzying this whole thing. I'll just hear them out, and hopefully things will go back to normal. What would I do without you?"

Joey flashed me one of his confident smiles as he put his right hand on my left shoulder, and said.

"I'd hate to think about it. Glad I could help Stewart, now come on your parents will be back any minute now!"

With that, we lifted ourselves off my bed, and proceeded to hurry back to the living room where we last left Paul. I turned my back one last time to check the clock, which this time read 7:20 PM. I still had a good chunk of time left, thankfully. Once we'd made our way down the stairs, I noticed Paul had completely finished the bowl of popcorn we were eating earlier...and had succeeded in leaving a large number of crumbs around the living room itself. I began to snarl somewhat as I slapped my forehead with my open palm even harder than I did earlier today. I really ought to start telling him to do the opposite of what I want him to do, it'd work miracles no doubt.

I gently asked him why there was a large mess awaiting our return, weakly holding back my growing rage as I did so.

"Umm, Paul? Do you remember the one thing I asked of you before going upstairs?"

My little brother's cheeky attitude returned fiercely as he lay flat on the couch, with the bowl of now scattered popcorn littering the couch cushions and carpet. A goofy smile lay across his face as he did so, as he made his sickeningly "cutesy" reply.

"..._Maaaaaaybe?"_

That broke the camel's back for me! I angrily leapt over the couch and landed ontop of him, preparing to let loose whole hours of my pent-up aggression and anxiety upon him. He shrieked with fright as I put the bowl back on the coffee table, began to tuck his neck under my left arm, and proceeded to give him a large noogie with my right hand. He'd been goading me good and hard since I got home, and NOW was the time to earn a reward for his efforts.

"Do you exist just to annoy me?!? Why are basic instructions so difficult for you?"

He frantically squirmed underneath the hold my left arm had on him, screaming and whining as he did so.

"Mercy!! Mercy!! I'm sorry big bro! I'll be good the rest of tonight, I promise!"

Joey was trying his best to hold back a powerful burst of laughter as this happened, but quickly snapped out of it when he heard the door begin to unlock, as did I. I jumped off Paul when I realised my parents had finally returned. With all the speed left within me, I began to rapidly pick up as many crumbs as possible as Joey did his best to buy me some more time before they came in. Paul joined in as well, knowing full well he'd also get busted with the position we both were currently in. We managed to get most of the crumbs back in the bowl just before the front door opened up, revealing my mother and father at long last.

Nervously, I made my best effort to greet them as normally as possible...with mixed results.

"He-Hey mom...and dad!"


	4. Making Preparations

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing pertaining to The Addams Family, beyond this personalized work of fiction. Thank you. :)**

There they were, dear ole mom and dad were back home from God knows where. A jolt of anxiety shot up my back as I realised I now had to confess what had went down earlier today, and what was to come in a couple short hours. Joey quickly backed away from his position in front of the door-way, allowing my folks to pass through without further delay.

Upon entering the door-way, my dad turned to his right to appropriately pay Joey for his usual sitting services. His expression seemed more stern than it normally was, which considering how my nerves have been throughout today wasn't helping my case at all. He gently slipped Joey a 20 dollar bill, and Joey swiftly flashed me and Paul a peace sign before making his way out the door.

With Paul to my right, we briskly ran up to our folks for a quick hug, which they accepted without hesitation. A part of me wanted to ask both of them how their days had went, but I shushed those thoughts into silence as there were more important things we needed to discuss first.

"Hello boys! How was school today? Anything Halloween related go down?"

Dad was the first to speak up, and his question couldn't have been more on the mark. Something Halloween related did _indeed _go down today, but sadly it wasn't of the fun sort (not for me at least). There was no point in prolonging the inevitable. I decided to cut the formalities and get straight to the point. I pulled out the 2 letters from my right pocket which I stuffed them into, and began to hand them over to my father. His formerly cheerful expression, instantly soured into a worried frown with my mother quickly following his example. He begins to read the nurse's letter I personally received earlier today, as well as the letter Paul had shown me when I got home.

"Dear Mr. and Ms. Malcolm...we must regretfully inform you that your son Stewart, had passed out earlier today in class. When he awoke 20 minutes later, he had informed us that he had been watching one too many scary movies lately, no doubt preparing for Halloween in the coming weeks. We strongly urge you to monitor what your children watch so that they may keep their fun in moderation..."

That was my health scare out of the way. Now it was time for them to learn of the company we'd be having at 9:30 PM.

"Dear Mr. and Ms. Malcolm, we must inform you that the family of one of our students, Wednesday Addams, has requested to visit you at your home at exactly 9:30 PM tonight, sharp. We don't know the specifics of why they wish to, but we were instructed to tell you that it is of the "utmost importance". We wish you the best of luck, have a nice day. :)"

My stomach dramatically tensed up as I feared how many months would fall off the calender before I could walk the streets ungrounded again. To my shock, my parents were nowhere near as incensed at this new information as I was expecting, although neither of them looked close to being what I'd consider to be happy. My father let out a large sigh while my mother put both of her hands to her mouth out of shock. She could be rather over-the-top in how protective she was of us at times, but I'd rather that than someone whom couldn't care less in all honesty.

She soon rushed over to my position and embraced me tightly. I was taken aback by this sudden intrusion of my space, but made no complaints or comments about it as I doubled my way back over to the couch. She soon released her hold on me as I was seated, with Paul once again joining me. She then joined my dad to his right as he stood in front of us, clearly worried himself and wanting to get the full story from the horse's mouth.

"Would you...care to explain to us both why you fainted Stewart? Moreover, where does this "Wednesday Addams" child fit into the picture?"

This was finally it. I couldn't say I didn't have a fair amount of time to prepare for it. I took a deep breath, and explained the current situation to the best of my abilities and sincerities.

"Ms. Palmer wanted us to tell scary stories to our fellow classmates today. It was meant as a way to build up excitement for Halloween in a couple of weeks time. Unfortunately, I ended up getting paired up with this quiet, weird girl named Wednesday Addams. When I realised what had happened, the shock from it all caused me to black out. I didn't have any time to really think about it. It just sort of...happened, I guess."

My parents responded to my confession with confused looks adorn their faces. They both looked at each other for a brief moment, before re-fixing their combined notices on me. My dad suddenly looked as if though he had the holy grail of all ideas. He silently gestured over to mom's left ear before whispering something into it. My mother's formerly worried and panicked expression, suddenly perked up with brightness and cheer. She began to look at me with the same look of mischief as Joey did as I explained what happened with Wednesday.

_Oh God_...I knew what was coming now.

"It seems our second in command here is starting to grow into a lady killer. I always knew it'd be a matter of time champ, put er there!"

"Ohh Stewart, you sly devil you!! No wonder you fainted in class! There's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of honey! It's perfectly normal to be shy around someone you have a crush on. I'm just glad it wasn't something more serious!"

My kid brother was predictably holding back some of the biggest laughter of his life. The fact he didn't somehow combust with it, while he sat to the right of me, shaking and jittering while holding it back was astonishing. This could have went much worse no doubt, but the simple fact remained I didn't have a crush on Wednesday. Once again, I have nothing against her personally, but I tend not to develop romantic feelings with girls whom I haven't held down a single conversation with. Call me a prude if you would, but I need to at least get to know someone personally before anything else could take off. Crazy I know!

I held back the urge to facepalm once again, as I waited for my parents to purge their shared excitement over my "love life". When they were done cooing, they sent us both up to our room in order to prepare for what was to come. I checked my alarm clock one last time as it read "8:10 PM". I could feel my skin begin to crawl as my heart rate started to increase a few ticks faster. My chest boomed with each thump as I sat down on my bed, relentlessly wracking my brain as to what I should say. What would the family themselves be like? Would they be steamed at me for fainting in front of everyone? I was beyond nervous at this point, and it's a wonder I didn't faint once again.

Paul seemed like he was finally starting to take pity on my predicament, and wrapped his left arm around me. I started to feel some measure of comfort as his surprising behavior caught me completely off guard, but in the state I was in I'd gladly take whatever I could get by this point.

"Y'know...I'll tell you what they look like, when they uhh...get here and all."

I turned my head to look him in the eyes as he said this. The look of gratitude on my face was evident. I suppose there wasn't a better time he could have picked to be a half decent brother, and like the old saying goes: better late than never.

"Thanks little bro. I appreciate it."

He snatched his arm away as soon as I said this. Well, that was quaint while it lasted I guess.

"Oookaaaay...enough of the mushy stuff. You and I need to work out what to say, and what they even look like while we still have time. Besides what you know about Wednesday, what can you tell me about how she normally dresses?"

I understood his game. He figures getting a read for how they send their own daughter to school might provide some insight on how they themselves dress. I tried to recall what Wednesday wore based on all the times I'd ever seen her in class...

"Let's see...she typically wears a grey dress that stretches from her upper body to her knees. Some black, kinda old fashioned, dress shoes. She wears her hair long with braids to both sides of her face, and has long black stockings. That's about it for now."

Paul's expression told me he was deeply analyzing every word I told him about Wednesday. He soon spoke up once again, wanting to know more about her personality and traits.

"I see...are you sure you can't remember one conversation you've had with her? From what I can tell, her folks must be into gothic culture and fashion or something. If we can expect them to do anything, it should be to keep up that same asthetic, especially if that's how they let one of their kids dress to school."

I nodded my head in agreement, and if it weren't already abundantly obvious, that didn't happen much at all. It was extremely rare, if not unheard of for me and Paul to agree on much of anything, but in this case it was hard for me to see any fault with his logic. Wednesday was completely unlike any of the other kids in my class, hell perhaps in the entire school itself. She never said a word to anyone else other than the teacher. Her taste in fashion was totally unlike anyone else I'd ever seen, so it would only make sense for her family to feature the same kind of example.

However in spite of all this, it still didn't change the fact I knew basically nothing about the kid otherwise. I guess I've never had the chance to really sit down and talk to her, but in fairness I couldn't really see the point in doing so. She never talked to anyone else as it was, why would I be any different? What would we even talk about anyway? I doubted she'd be into the same things I was into, pretty much none of the girls my age were.

"Oi! Stewart are you awake? We've got about an hour and a half to burn here, and time's ticking! Can you remember a discussion you and her had, or not?"

"I already told you, _no._ She never speaks to anyone in class from what I've seen, and in case it hasn't dawned on you by now, I'm pretty damn freaked out by her! Besides which, what would we even talk about anyway? Skateboarding, video games, monster trucks, rock music? You know well enough what girls our age are into, and it tends NOT to be either of the following categories!"

Paul was startled a bit by my sudden outburst, but quickly straightened himself out as he tried to change the topic of discussion.

"_Right...well..._if you haven't had a single talk with her, the best you could afford to do is hear what they have to say. Sorry bro, I'm doing my best here, but the info you're giving me doesn't leave much to go on. Alternatively, you could just bail at the last second when they get here, but I of course can't recommend that in good conscience as you'll definitely be dealt some serious grounding time. I know you'd hate to see me steal your plans for this year's Halloween, so in the end I'm afraid this is looking like your only option bro."

I slumped my shoulders and sighed pitifully, utterly defeated as my head hung down. It was official, my death sentence was all but made affirmative. I could do nothing but lift my head up gradually as Paul stood in the door-way. He gave me a sympathetic look before he imparted one last act of kindness to me before leaving.

"You obviously have alot to prepare for, so I'll tell mom and dad you'd rather eat dinner in your room for tonight. Don't worry, I'll keep watch outside and tell you what they look like when they arrive. Of course these services, while guaranteed, will come at a price to you I'm afraid..."

Here we go again...can't say it wasn't fun while it lasted though.

"Name it, then get out. I've got enough to brood about at the moment."

He smiled in wicked victory as his left hand clenched into a fist. He then proceeded to launch his list of demands at me.

"_Ohhhh _not much...say! You know that special, Halloween themed ice-cream the rents buy us when we're good? I want some of your share bro."

He really thinks he's being clever right now, doesn't he? I had no time to waste on this, so I gave into his demands like the kind hearted, pansy of an older brother I was.

"_Done._..out_!_

I gestured to the door with my right index finger to make it clear I wanted to be left alone. He gives me his trademark smug, boyish smile and a salute before abruptly exiting the room, closing the door shut behind him.

Whelp...I've had advice, my parents knew everything of what happened today (and I wasn't grounded in spite of it), and even my brother has agreed to help me. The rest all fell upon my own 2 shoulders, it was like having the fate of an entire planet dumped on you all in one setting. I closed my eyes as I began to regulate my breathing and heart rate, eager to calm myself once more before my inevitable date with destiny. This was all happening on a Wednesday no less as well, something told me Wednesday wasn't going to be my preferred day of the week after all this...assuming IF I survived it, that was.

A good 20 minutes went by as Paul finally came back with my dinner. It was pretty good I had to admit. A nice, well-done cut of steak, some small random vegetables on the side, and a side helping of mashed potatoes. It took me about half that amount of time to clean the plate of it's contents. I must have been hungrier than I realised as I normally pace myself before eating, but I ended up scarfing down the meal faster than normal, weird.

I checked my clock once again as it said "9:00 PM". The time for this unknown family's visit was nearly at hand, and I began to sweat profusely at what awaited me. I laid back on my bed with both arms stretched out to my sides as I tried in vain to relax my worried mind once again. I tried to think of comforting things, such as my friends and me skateboarding down an uncrowded street. The games I could expect for Christmas this year. My plans for Halloween that Paul ever so subtlely made reference to, among others. I managed to find a modicum of relief from my ongoing terror as the clock began to tick in rhythm with my own beating heart. It genuinely felt like I was simply waiting to die, and the worst part of it was there was nothing I could do about it. I hated feeling this powerless and frightened, but my hands were effectively tied in this scenario. I had to face the music, and I had to do it like a man. Not my first choice of action mind you, but one I needed to do all the same.

I went to check my alarm clock once more as it read "9:25 PM". _5 minutes..._that was all the time that remained in the world for me, just 5 measly minutes. I took one last deep breath as I steeled myself for what was to come. I briefly thought of looking out the window to see what they looked like for myself, but I remembered it was far too dark outside, and I didn't want to run the risk of them noticing me.

I waited a little longer until checking my clock just one last time. It read "9:30 PM"...huh, so where were they? Maybe they decided to no show after all. Phew! That was a massive load off my shoulders and mind...now maybe I could concentrate on more important matters such as this year's Halloween...

_Ding-Dong..._damn it.

I heard Paul open the door to our bedroom with a sly grin on his face. He soon spoke in one the creepiest voices I could ever remember him speaking in.

_They're heeeeeere..._


	5. They're Creepy And They're Kooky

**Author's Note: This chapter will contain a reference to the first story I've written to date. I'm afraid this will also be the final chapter of the story. However, depending on popular demand, a sequel may indeed be in the works, so do voice your desires in the review section if possible! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing pertaining to the Addams Family, beyond this personalized work of fiction. Thank you. :)**

I fell limp...cold...lifeless. My body completely refused to obey the commands I gave it, prompting Paul to drag me out of my room by my left arm. I collapsed to the floor as I began to regain control of my senses to a degree. He gestured for me to follow him as he crawled on the floor on his hands and knees, which I followed behind at my own pace. He soon stopped at the front of the top staircase as it had given us the best view of the door-way without revealing our positions.

I cowardly hid behind the wall to the left which covered myself from detection of the family. Paul carefully watched our father greet whomever the hell was on the other side of the door. I wanted to ask Paul just what was going on, but I couldn't will myself to speak out for fear of blowing our cover. He soon spoke up himself as he noticed the fear and panic evident in my face.

"Okay so, the first dude seems relatively normal...more or less. He's dressed in a black business suit. He has short, slick, black hair. A small black moustache, and he's smoking a brown cigar. He looks like a spaniard dude in his mid 40s, not what I'd call intimidating though."

I felt an instant wave of relief crash over me as at least one of the people here to see me wasn't a total freak show. However, there was still the matter of what they were saying to each other, which I myself couldn't hear.

"What are they saying? Is it getting heated down there?"

"Not really. The guy's name is Gomez Addams. He says he has no time for formalities, and that they wish to speak to you immediately. He does look kinda serious though...probably just in a hurry."

That made sense at least. I began to prepare to meet and greet my visitors as they had came out all this way just to meet me. Just when I went to lift myself up off the floor however, Paul pulled me down with his right arm as he brought to my attention the next couple of visitors.

"Hold on...there's someone else coming through, shaking our mom's hand. She's ummmm..._hoooo boy."_

I raised my left eye-brow in confusion. Who...or _what _was joining this Gomez Addams guy?

"What do you mean? Who's this next person joining him?"

"_Weeeeeell..._lemme put this to you in a way I think we'll both understand. Ever wonder what Marilyn Manson would look like in drag?"

My face scrunched up in disgust. Was he really about to pull this stupid crap on me right now?

"Not..._especially?_ Why?"

"Whelp...let's just say...think we've got a winner!"

He points with his right index finger to the door-way, clearly holding back an enormous amount of laughter as he did so. I gently maneuvered myself over to where he was pointing, and there stood a tall, slender, ghostly pale woman. She wore a long, flowing, black dress that perfectly framed her figure. She had long, flowing black hair that cascaded down to her lower back. She had black eye shadow, bright red lip-stick, and long, red, freshly manicured nails. I suppose one could say she was "enchanting"...in a gothic sort of way, of course.

"That's not all. They have this really tall dude standing behind them, with 2 kids by his sides. He looks dressed up for Halloween already, going as Frankenstein by the looks of things. The kid on the left looks a bit on the round side, and his hair is spiked up in the front. He has a black and white striped sleeveless shirt, black jean shorts, and brown shoes with white socks. He looks pretty mean if I'm being honest, so I'd advise avoiding eye contact with him if possible. The kid on the right has to be Wednesday, and she's dressed exactly like how you described her earlier."

I forced myself from my hiding spot behind the left wall of our 2nd floor hall-way, to see if what Paul told me had checked out. Sure enough, a large, physically imposing man stood behind Wednesday Addams parents, acting like a butler of sorts for them. The kid he said was on the heavy side looked pretty pissed off for whatever reason, so much for my theory of having done nothing wrong then. Wednesday took a seat on my dad's easy chair in the upper-left corner of the living room after he had granted her the okay to do so. Her expression was the same as it had been since the beginning. Her soulless gaze engulfed whatever laid in it's wake, and it was impossible to tell if she came here willingly, or was made to come by her parents.

Regardless, the giant and the menacing fat kid made one thing totally clear to me...I was _not _going to hear what they had to say after all.

Having made up my mind, I carefully began to sneak my way down the stairs, but before I made my descent, Paul drew my attention one last time.

"Don't tell me...you're actually going to make a break for it?"

Unfortunately, yes. I hated having to swallow my pride in front of him like this, but I've never been one for blind heroics in the first place.

"Looks like you win again...you little vermin."

He stuck his tounge out at me as I spat out my last sentence at him. I gently made my way down the stair-case as my parents were preparing to retreive me from my room. I cautiously made my way down each step as I heard my parents inching ever closer to my position. I reached the bottom step before leaping over to the back of the couch, safe from the detection of the others. I started to crawl on my belly as I gradually made my way to the front door. My plan was simple, avoid detection by using the couch for cover, then bolt my way out the door-way when I reached it.

However, to my greatest of horrors that day, my father bellowed out a single question that stopped me dead cold in my tracks.

"And just _where _do you think YOU'RE going, Stewart!?!"

You can't be serious...he knew where I was the whole time? I went out of my way to be as quiet as possible. What could have given away my position?

Having no other options but to face the music, I lifted myself off the floor and showed myself to both my parents, as well as the company we had over. I dared not meet eyes with our visitors as I feared in doing so would reveal just how terrified I really was. I refused to give these complete strangers anymore power over me than they already had. I stood in front of them all with my head down, defeated and utterly embarassed. I slowly walked my way to the front of the couch as my father instructed me to sit down dead-center.

As I slumped down on the couch, I noticed Wednesday staring at me from my dad's easy chair. The same emotionless, soul piercing gaze she gave virtually everything in her line of sight was just as prevalent as it had always been. In my most pathetic of efforts, I weakly tried to wave in her direction as I no doubt had the dumbest face on as I did so. As per usual, nothing. No response, her expression hadn't even changed slightly. She just kept on staring at me, with those cold, empty eyes like I was a caged rat on the verge of being torn asunder by a hungry predator.

The kid to my right looked at me with an expression that wasn't so much hatred, as it was "I'm so angry I could..._accidentally _murder someone right now". I couldn't quite tell, but I also had the weirdest of suspicions that he was sniffing me. I nearly punched him square in the nose on reflex, but somehow managed to avoid doing so partially out of fear, and partially out of not wanting to anger the family more than I already had.

Meanwhile, Gomez and the woman whom I presumed to be his wife stood in front of me. They didn't seem quite as angry as the chubby kid, nor quite as emotionless as Wednesday, but it was quite clear neither were especially happy with me. Gomez himself seemed more saddened than anything else, as if though someone had insulted him in the worst possible way. The woman herself looked at me with an expression that could be, best described as "for shame young man...for shame". I was completely at their mercy, and Lord knows there's few positions in life I hated being in more.

Lastly, their hulking man-servant looked down at me with a look of anger, though not quite as intensely as their son had. His immense size and no doubt tremendous brute strength had scared me more so than anything else present in the house at that moment. It overall added to my accumulative terror as I litterally began to quiver where I sat. It was a miracle I hadn't soiled my pants right there to be frank.

My parents stood by the staircase, with a shared look of disappointment and pity ontop both of their faces. I hated to think about it, but it was like they were sub-consciously blaming me for angering this family. I silenced those thoughts immediately as I still had the family to deal with as they all stared me down. Then Paul looked at me with his usual, shit-eating grin as he flipped me the bird with his right middle finger. At least I now had something to look forward to had I survived this mess. A part of me wanted to just shut my eyes, count to 10, and pretend this whole thing was one, God-awful nightmare, but sadly this luxury was not available for me.

I couldn't believe just how unsafe I felt at that moment. Within the privacy of my own home, I felt like fresh chum dumped out to sea to appease the endless hunger of a great white shark. The hostility that surrounded me on all corners of the room was borderline maddening. Never mind one of the worst days I'd had in a while. This was quickly shaping up to be the worst day of my life.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Gomez Addams got down on one knee, and looked me dead straight in both my eyes before asking me a rather confusing question.

"Do you understand what it is you've done young man? Can you even begin to contemplate the ramifications of your actions?"

I could only weakly shake my head in terror and confusion. If I understood what it was I had done in the first place, I may not be shivering like a baby at the moment.

Gomez let out a noticeable "hmph" before returning to a full vertical base. He then began to explain just what "actions" I had committed in order to deserve this sort of treatment.

"You refused to scare my only daughter, and on the beloved month of Halloween no less! There are very few things we Addams find more disrespectful than one neighbor refusing to scare another during this month. This tradition has survived our family's legacy for more generations than I can count. To refuse this tradition, is to spit in the face of everything this family stands for!! I ask you, if one cannot expect a good scare from his own neighbor on the month of Halloween, then where might he find one?!? Tell me! I IMPLORE YOU!!!"

Gomez's voice boomed with dramatic intensity and raw emotion. It was like he was reciting a performance from a theater play he may have seen at one point at time. I in the mean time began to become confused once again as I struggled to comprehend what it was I had even done wrong. Did this man _really_ just say the reason I was in trouble was because I refused to scare his own daughter? I could have slapped myself then and there as the mere idea of the concept made very little sense to me. I would have spoken up about it, but my fear remained way too intense for me to do much besides just sit there and absorb this impassioned rant, from this most..."eccentric" family man.

"Now, having done this...you have not only insulted my family's honor, you have also personally offended my own daughter. She came back to us earlier today in hysterics over your blatant disregard for family traditions! She claims the reason you "fainted" today was purposeful as you did not want to be in a secluded location with her. Have you anything to say in your defense?!?"

My mouth went into overdrive as I desperately tried to cram out a response to his question, but all I could think about was one vital detail he mentioned...I HURT WEDNESDAY'S FEELINGS?!?

"**ohwellyouseeIwasjust**...I did what now?"

Gomez harshly slammed both of his fists into the coffee table as he hollered in my face once again.

"DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME BOY?!?"

I instantly backed myself up against the couch as my heart suddenly skipped a beat. I could only pathetically whimper out a terrified **_"noooooo" _**as my face grotesquely morphed into a horrific frown. I could feel my very world begin to merry-go-round as all the sense in life started to drift away from me. I'd heard of wacky, "old time", traditions before, but this was completely ludicrous! I was being lambasted not just for fainting, but for refusing to scare someone, let alone a girl my own age!!! What even was this day?!? Somebody tell me, I IMPLORE YOU!!!

The Addams family patriarch began to recompose himself shortly after his enraged out-burst. He readjusted his suit and tie when his wife whispered something into his right ear. Oh wonderful! Nothing beats getting double teamed by 2 people that hated your guts. It had to be a miracle by this point I wasn't hung up by my insides outside as the wind dried them out. I hate to be that graphic about it, but this was as close to a "deer in the head-lights" situation as I'd ever been in before.

Gomez and his wife switched positions as she took a bow on one knee. She gently extended her right hand to me, offering me a hand-shake. I nervously reciprocated her formal behavior as I was still severely shakened up by her husband's impassioned rantings.

"Please forgive my dear husband, Stewart. I'm afraid his passion tends to get the best of him at times. It's one of the many reasons I fell madly in love with him so many years ago! I am Morticia. It's a pleasure to meet you and your lovely family."

Morticia huh? Well, that was..._exotic_? To say the least anyway. Her gentle, serene demeanor over-shadowed her dark, gothic appearance and fashion sense. I began to feel some degree of calm as Morticia's voice put my poor nerves at ease. She quickly withdrew her hand as she attempted to explain her family's rather bizarre holiday traditions to me.

"You see young man...Halloween is to us what I'm sure Christmas is to your family. It is a time of family and tradition, where scores of people come together to celebrate one of the most misunderstood, and underappreciated human emotions of all: **_fear_**. It is fear that teaches us to appreciate all the things we normally take for granted in our lives. Without fear, people have a tendency to grow arrogant and lazy. They believe themselves to be invincible, completely ignorant to the fact that life and it's blessings may be stripped away from them all in one instant."

While I was still somewhat frightened, Morticia's calm and eloquent explanation was starting to make more and more sense to me. She was right, people did take things for granted everyday, and it's only under fear of the consequences of our actions do we realise how precious our decisions really are. I'm not one to get this "deep" about life in general, being a 12 year old kid, but I do try to be grateful for what I have.

"This is why we as a family, honor and even celebrate this wonderful emotion, and it's the one time of the year where the rest of the world does the same! So you see...refusing to scare an Addams, is like refusing a dinner invitation by an Addams. With this in mind...I trust you understand what must be done?"

No matter how much the whole thing confused me, I'd be pretty dense to not understand their request by now. I got it, they wanted me to scare their daughter as planned. I only knew one story by heart, but it was creepy enough to keep Paul from sleeping with the lights off for 2 weeks. It would have to do, it was all I had to offer, so hopefully it could suffice.

I nodded my head once again, this time a little more firmly as Morticia resumed her position at her husband's side once again. Gomez soon walked over to where my father stood by our stair-case, shook his hand, and then parted to me a single request before taking his leave of my house along with his family.

"Very well then, it was a pleasure meeting you and your family Stewart Malcolm. As my precious wife mentioned, please don't...as you kids these days might say, "bail out" this time?"

I forced myself to verbally respond to his request. I just wanted this night to be over with already.

"_Y-yes sir._ I'll do my best, I promise."

With this, Wednesday's parents signaled for their children to say their good-byes to my parents, which they did so. Their lumbering friend did the same, and he even tipped his cap in my direction, though he still had a wary look on his face. The chubby kid didn't seem quite as mad as before, but he had a look in his eyes that basically told me "we aren't finished yet". He then exited through the door-way, and lastly there was Wednesday herself staring me down. As per usual, she said nothing. Her icy, daggered, stare bore a hole straight through me. She stared me down for about a minute, before finally joining the rest of her family out the door, closing it behind her as she did so.

With the bizarre and creepy family at long last gone from my house, I took the biggest breath of relief as I sunk down into the couch further. My fragile heart and mind could finally rest easy as I somehow survived this ungodly ordeal. After I gave myself a few minutes to regain my senses, I immediately rushed to where my parents stood, embracing them both as hard as humanly possible. They both eagerly returned my affections with a passion, eventually my father put his hands on both of my arms as he spoke to me for the first time since Gomez ranted at me.

"I couldn't be anymore proud of you tonight Stewart. I'm sorry you had to endure all that, but you handled yourself like a grown man. You faced your fears, you heard what the family had to say, and now you've got the chance to set things right. The request makes about as much sense to me as it does you, but provided you humor them we shouldn't have to worry about these people anymore. Go upstairs and get some rest..you've more than earned it."

I happily accepted that offer as I swiftly ran up the stairs to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth rather throughly and took a quick shower to wash off the sweat and grime clinging to my body. It hadn't resonated with me just how much I sweated today given the fear and anxiety that had plagued me throughout tonight. I was happy to cleanse myself of it all. After my shower was over, I quickly slipped into my PJs as I made my way over to my bedroom, greeted by the disinterested look of Paul. He expressed his disappointment of my survival of the most traumatic night of my young life in his usual snotty way.

"Awww man, they let you live huh? What a waste, and to think I was about to convert your half of the bedroom into my own private suite. What did they say they wanted from you, pray tell?"

I had just gone through a bonafide horror-show, so what was the harm in humoring his childish BS for a few minutes?

"You won't believe it, but here it goes anyway. They basically were pissed at me for not scaring Wednesday like I was supposed to. I'm supposed to correct that mistake tomorrow though."

Josh raised an eye-brow in confusion at the weird request. I can't say the feeling wasn't mutual in all honesty. That being said, I could somewhat understand where they were coming from...kinda.

"_Riiiiiight_...anyhow, you weren't lying about that Wednesday kid being creepy. They said she came back in "hysterics"? I'm pretty sure I didn't see her expression change once the whole time, could of fooled me. She is kinda cute though...pfft, figures she'd go for a chump like you. I mean really, what's a bum like you got that I don't got? Just take a look at this face..."

He slipped his hands under his chin and fluttered his eye-lids. His cringey display of cute was enough to nearly make me retch, but I repressed that urge as I didn't want to ruin my PJs. I also was far more invested in getting a good night's sleep than indulging my kid brother's idiocy. Having said that, I needed to set the record straight. There was nothing repeat _nothing_...going on between me and Wednesday. We weren't even friends, and we hadn't shared so much as one conversation together, and lastly...she pretty much terrified me. I wasn't looking forward to having her so close to me tomorrow, but that'll be my cross to bear no doubt.

"Not you too...for the last time, I'm not interested in her romantically! What do I have to do to prove to you there's nothing between us? We're not even friends, why would we be LOVERS?!?"

Despite my rebuttals, Paul clearly wasn't listening to a word of it. He merely hand-waved my arguments as he began to turn around on his left side in an effort to get some shut-eye. I mentally counted my blessings as I was glad to finally be done with this nonsense. I just wanted a decent night's rest after what I'd been through all day. I moved to turn our lamp off, then turned to my right as my exhaustion finally took me over, causing me to peacefully fall into unconscious-ness.

The following morning was like a blur to me. I immediately jumped up after our alarm clock blared it's way through my ear drums, and rushed to get ready for school. Before I knew it, it was 11:30 once again in class, and Ms. Palmer wasted no time in pairing me and Wednesday up once again. I won't lie and say I wasn't afraid still, but I was at least ready for what was to come. I allowed Wednesday to enter the closet first before myself, the good natured, "ladies man" that I apparently was.

I took a seat a few inches away from her as she sat facing in front of me. Her glare remained consistent in it's eerie lack of emotion, and I was beginning to grow rather uncomfortable in no time. Then, out of nowhere, she began to gesture with her right hand for me to come a bit closer to her. Though against my better judgement, I did so in an effort to get this whole thing over and done with. Once I was seated yet again, I began to tell my one scary story that I came up with about a year ago. I haven't really decided on a name for it, but the basic gist is that a young boy, born an only child, creates separate identities or extensions of himself based on traits from his own personality. His belief that these versions of himself are in fact his own siblings is so great, it begins to distort his view of the world around him, causing him to become lost within his own perception of reality. This becomes a detriment and hazard to those the boy cares about, such as his friends and family, and he slowly begins to fall into despair and chaos as he no longer is able to tell the difference between fact and fiction.

It took me about 20 minutes to finish telling the story, upon which Wednesday again had no response for me. I couldn't tell whether or not I succeeded in scaring her as she held no emotion on her face. However...she did do something rather unexpected. Slowly, she began to slide her way over to where I was sitting, all the while keeping that cold, emotionless gaze with her as she did so. Not wanting to have that lifeless stare on me any longer, I promptly got up and bolted my away out of the closet before she could close the distance between us.

Ms. Palmer enthusiatically greeted me upon returning from the dusty darkness that was the class closet.

"Well there you have it class! Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Addams have successfully completed our annual Halloween closet challenge! If you all would, please give a round of applause to our fellow participants!"

A lukewarm at best response of cheers and claps begin to fill the classroom, which I responded to with mild embarassment. I soon took my seat back at my desk, which thankfully stood at the opposite direction away from Wednesday. I didn't want to think about what may have happened had she gotten any closer, but either way I had fufilled my end of the bargain. With any luck, my problems would finally be over, and the family could God willing leave me in peace.

Overall, if I could safely say I've learned anything from this entire situation, it's that you can't run away from your problems forever. I thought I'd be clever and try to ditch doing something I didn't want to do, and all it did was bring me a whole mess of trouble I wanted no part of. If I had just sucked it up and gone through with this like I should have in the first place, I could have avoided having an entire family of wack-jobs visit me at my home.

Thankfully, all that's passed me by now. Speaking of things about to pass me by, my friends and I are about to hit up a skate park just a few blocks north of our school..._sooooo._

Later! :)

**Final Thoughts: I apologize if the more light-hearted and silly**** tone of my little tale isn't to the liking of those whom enjoyed the movies, but I was honestly in the mood to write something more innocent for this year around. As I explained above, a sequel may be in the works if enough people request for it, so don't be shy! Let your feelings be heard!**

**I throughly appreciate everyone whom gave my story a chance, let alone read it all the way to the end. Thank you all for reading, and peace and blessings be upon you all! Till we meet again! :)**


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